Digger Goreman

Today it was delivery vans.... The ultimate in raising distracted and couldn't-care-less driving to professionnal lows.

OldTryGuy

Just brought this to mind >>>

Biker395 

Nasty drivers come in all kinds of vehicles, but for my money, 20 something males driving full sized pickups are the worst. It's as if they are compensating for something else lacking.

Doug64

My chief gripes are: cyclists riding against traffic or on sidewalks, followed by black diesel pickups driven by jerks.

reverborama

Wow. This thread totally went a different direction than I thought it would from the title.

My least favorite vehicles are generally subcompacts where you can't put a hitch on them so you have to add a roof rack. You WILL eventually forget and drive into the garage or a parking ramp.
I suppose sub-compact convertibles are even worse. No place at all to carry a bike.
$ for $ I think the Magnum P.I. 308 Ferrari might be the worst. No room for a hitch and a T-Top! Where does the bike go?

CAT7RDR

FedEx vans on Christmas Eve Day. Had a too close encounter after the driver ran a stop sign.

Digger Goreman

Driver behavior, in the U.S. follows closely the culture of "American Exceptionalism" aka, "The American Dream": the "I've got mine" (often pretentiously un-earned) vs (in their minds) you poor bastards that must be lazy or doing it wrong; the frustrated.that believe in the rat race and are perpetually learning that even a "winner" is still a rat; and other forms of exceptionalism based on force, philosophy and fark you... all expressed through their force and "face" of motorized vehicles....

What a mess....

bruceski44

Those trailered tar pots used by roofers to heat tar stink to high heaven.

I was in a group riding up a narrow, cliffside road to Glacier Point in Yosemite NP and every time a tour bus went by, it almost blew me off the side of the cliff. You can't hear them coming, because the engine's in the rear. The first thing you know is this huge blast of air off the front of the bus hits you. It kept a grueling ride interesting!

CyclingBK

Oh, also on this loop, they have these motorized scooters and skateboards. Some of them go fast and these guys go like 30 or faster weaving all over the place.

leftthread

It's been chock-full of crazy out there lately. Recent low point: getting shaved by a dump truck.

DarkSkyHUnter

Any vehicle passing with a pit-bull hanging out the window.

wle

Easy one: anything with jesus, a fish, or anything religious
THE WORST

and school buses

relrrt

Grow up and quit your whining. Your dad should pull off his belt and straighten you out!

Iride01 

How is that different than the attitudes of some cyclist?

For certain, I'd rather ride my bicycle here in the USA as opposed to some of the other countries I've been to and seen reports on.

run50

Definitely BMW's...I can't tell you the number of times I've been buzzed by a BMW (actually any
German car) in close calls.

ka.i

You mean like this one?
Watch it in a desktop browser or on a platform YourTube app
Skip to minute 1 if the link doesn't take you there.

Digger Goreman

That was heartily hubric and xenophobic....
Pity your self-limiting mileage varied.
My "attitude" if you will, comes from a lifetime as an observant american. It also comes from opening mind and heart to experiences that others filled with kindness...and from comparing what people say to what they do. Individually, americans can be charming and seeking of world cooperation. Collectively... capable of selfishly and devisively destroying themselves and the world. "We" have a long way to go, and an infinitude to learn from others. "USA" chip off the shoulder is a start....
"Good Luck, and thanks for all the fish!"

Iride01 

I hope your are talking about you. I'd have some friends that would laugh at you if they thought you were talking about me. They know I don't fit that remark <grin>

Steve B.

Yup, surprised this wasn't mentioned more often.

UPS/FedEx Overnight/FedEx Ground the independents)/Prime and a whole the unmarked.

In more urban area's, where they deal with difficult traffic, they have really bad habits of just stopping the friggin truck dead in the traffic lane as if nobody else on the planet needs to use this road. They can be hard to get around on a bike and you never know if the drive is in the vehicle and when they are, they tend to just start up without checking if anybody is passing.

Bill in VA

For me, when both a driver AND as a bike rider"

1. Amazon delivery trucks, especially the Prime ones. I have seen a driver make a u-turn, on a residential street with pedestrians and kids on the sidewalks, as well as cyclists and cars in the road, and drive up over the right curb, go into the sidewalk, turn, and do the same thing on the other side of the street rather than back up.
2. Dodge Ram pickups - must be something about the name influences the driving.
2. BMWs - there is a reason BMW drivers and porcupines are often compared.

Honorable mention: Prius and Smart car drivers

Kabuki12

I would have to say , it is more about the driver than the vehicle. Of course unyielding larger vehicles are more dangerous because of their size , but again, it is the driver . As cyclists we can all share stories of inconsiderate drivers and for me they drive all types of vehicles.

fitcat

Hah, would be nice if they pulled over the miscreants on Enginecycles with no mufflers to speak of. The heros that ride the Harley crap, who must also be truck drivers as they get as close to a cyclist as possible and roll on the throttle, or go by with their pals all tick-tacky, all dressed just the same, multiplying the 125dB times their numbers.
Got passed once by a true Motorcycle, came out of nowhere, with no warning. I thought, "this'll ne'r do", chased him down. The slacker wasn't even puffing going up the next hill, and that is when I learned the trick, that he was augmented by electric motor, very well hidden. Fella wouldn't keep up on the full tuck descent though.
A friend, Ex Olympian rides in Europe a lot and has a name for these that isn't consistent with the good manners of this site.

tdaileyphd

Most see my rear blinker and give me space. I suspect young drivers might be worse at squeezing by, perhaps unaware of the law or consequences.

Hypno Toad

You beat me to school buses - I spent time driving one and knowing the vehicles and the drivers and the schedules they are forced to keep ... they are terrifying. One benefit of pandemic-world, no school buses!

Other repeaters in the thead:

• White contractor vans/trucks
• Tonka toy pickup trucks

The high priced SUVs (BMW/Mercedes/etc) have been a real mixed bag of total jackholes and very respectful/safe and everything in between.

Some brands that have been repeat offenders in my area (Minneapolis): crusty old Pontiac and any Cadillac.

Last one is specific to the snow-belt - SNOWPLOWS are more like terrifying than annoying!

CAT7RDR

Forgot to mention in the SoCal canyons, hopped up weekend sports bikers think they own the world. Too much bravado and not enough skill or common sense. Seems like the meat wagons are picking them up every weekend. Now with that out of the way, I find bikers on touring motorcycles are toned down and respectful of cyclists. Just a different mindset with those folks.